Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez said in an interview on the show Foul Territory that he’s “throwing and feeling good” following August surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow (h/t Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner for reporting on Rodriguez’s comments). The newly minted Angel added that he considered surgery in Spring Training, but decided against it, only for the discomfort to become unbearable. “It got to a point where I was like, ‘I can’t take it.’”
Rodriguez has battled injuries for the majority of his career. He missed the entire 2025 campaign with shoulder and lat issues. He was sidelined for part of the 2024 season with a shoulder injury. A lat strain capped Rodriguez at 17 starts in 2022 and likely pushed his MLB debut back a season.
According to Rodriguez, the bone spurs have been an issue for quite some time. “They’ve been in there for three or four years. This is something that I’ve dealt with for a while, ever since I was in Double-A, Triple-A.” The righty added that the bone spurs seemed to have led to the recurring lat problems, as the muscle was working harder to slow his arm after releasing each pitch.
Los Angeles is betting on better health for Rodriguez. The Angels landed the talented righty in a straight swap for outfielder Taylor Ward earlier this week. Ward is coming off a career-best 36-homer season. He’s been a mainstay in the middle of LA’s lineup for the past four seasons. Ward will be a free agent after 2026, while Rodriguez is under team control through 2029. The trade helped the Angels free up some capital, as Ward is projected to earn $13.7MM in his last year of arbitration.
Rodriguez said he was caught off guard by the move, but is “pumped” to head to his new team. “I didn’t think the Orioles would trade me. But, obviously, the Angels wanted me bad enough, and it’s kind of a cool feeling.”
If the bone spur removal gets Rodriguez back on track from a health perspective, Los Angeles could have their ace of the future. The 26-year-old is just a few years removed from being the top pitching prospect in the league. After scuffling in his first taste of big-league action, he put together a 13-start stretch with a 2.58 ERA to close his rookie season. Rodriguez was on his way to a breakout 2024 before the shoulder injury cut his season short. The righty improved his strikeout rate to 26.5% while cutting his hard-hit rate by 4%. His xFIP (3.57) and SIERA (3.61) backed up his 3.86 ERA.
Rodriguez’s health update is in line with the info relayed by Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias back in September. The executive told reporters that Rodriguez was on track for 2026 Spring Training.
If the righty is indeed good to go for the spring, it’ll mark the first time he’s pitched competitively since July 2024. Rodriguez’s velocity will be important to monitor once he gets back on the mound. He averaged 97.4 mph on his fastball in his rookie season, but that number fell to 96.1 mph in 2024. Rodriguez’s arsenal will also be something to keep an eye on. He threw six different pitches in 2023, but trimmed that to four pitches the following season. Rodriguez ditched the cutter and sweeper in 2024, while throwing the curveball a bit harder and the slider slightly softer.
Rodriguez will slot in behind Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Soriano for the Angels. While Rodriguez’s health will be a main focus, there are plenty more questions to be answered in the rotation. Reid Detmers seems like he’ll get another shot as a starter after putting together a strong season out of the bullpen. Caden Dana and Mitch Farris closed 2025 in the rotation and are candidates for spots, though both had ERAs over 6.00 last year. Prospects George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri, acquired from the Phillies in the Carlos Estevez trade, could also factor into the equation.
Photo courtesy of Tommy Gilligan, Imagn Images
This smells of an IL stint to start the season.
I have always wondered if players delay surgeries due to pressure from teams or agents. Far too often we see player playing through injuries or taking a quick IL stint with the player and teams saying the, “just needs some rest”. And then comes the surgery.
Why not just get the surgery out of the way? Sucking while playing through an injury does NOT help the team or the next contract.
The player makes the decision on surgery..I found out today they avoid surgery on bone spurs and chips because it could lead to a TJS later.
What pisses me off is when they know they need offseason surgery then delay it till December or January and miss the first month of the season. Hey stupid if you do it in say mid October you would not miss any time
soccer_ref,
If only baseball players had the magic spray soccer players use, they might never be seriously injured.
gba: They do. The spray freezes the injured area, numbing it so the player can play through the injury.
avenger, I thought the spray paralyzed the part of the body or brain that causes flopping antics so they stop faking injury and get back to playing.
It’s not the player. Teams pressure players to stay on the field. If it was up to the player–they’d do it and get it over with. The good news is that the lat strain and problem with the shoulder was caused by the inability for the pitcher to fully extend on his throws. Teams treat these guys like cattle.
Shouldn’t it be quite the opposite as his elbow (now corrected with relatively minor surgery) was effecting his throwing shoulder?
I thought the same thing as you when I first read his comment, but I looked it up and he’s right. Apparently after the surgery they have an increased range of motion and it puts strain on the ligament (which is usually already damaged at that point if they’ve needed bone spur removal surgery). The extra strain causes it to tear.
That’s assuming his UCL isn’t intact which we don’t know anything about. There have been plenty of pitchers who’ve had elbow bone spur debridement which didn’t later require UCL surgery in their careers.
From the same source I got the other information from: While an intact UCL and bone spurs can co-exist, there are important connections to be aware of:
Valgus Extension Overload (VEO): Repetitive, forceful movements (like pitching) can cause VEO, which involves forces that lead to bone spurs on the back of the elbow and put extreme tension on the UCL. In this scenario, the two conditions often happen together.
Protective Stability: In some cases, bony changes (like bone spurs) and stiffness from associated joint damage can actually provide a measure of stability to an otherwise insufficient or slightly lax UCL. This means the UCL might be weakened or stretched, but the bone spur formation helps prevent the elbow from opening up too much, which can make a tear appear less severe or keep a partial tear from progressing.
This was in the Baltimore Banner.
thebanner.com/sports/orioles-mlb/grayson-rodriguez…
If Grayson Rodriguez ends up needing Tommy John surgery in 2026, the Angels would still retain 2 to 2.5 years of team control post-recovery — likely covering the 2028 and 2029 seasons.
Yes, they’d effectively be punting on 2026 and possibly managing a limited workload in 2027. But if Rodriguez returns to form, that control window alone could justify the trade. The upside? A cost-controlled, mid-rotation arm with frontline flashes through the end of the decade.
This is a high-variance play, no doubt. But if the Angels are retooling — or just trying to survive the next two years — the bet could pay off by 2028.
Let’s be honest: this is the Arte Moreno era. The club has never committed to building a full five-man rotation through free agency. So they rolled the dice. What’s the worst-case scenario? They free up $13 million in 2025, lose Taylor Ward, and still gain four years of control on a 26-year-old arm with potential
“There have been plenty of pitchers who’ve had elbow bone spur debridement which didn’t later require UCL surgery in their careers.”
Proceeds to not name even one pitcher. This isn’t your copy and paste echo chamber. Come with names or just sit in your bleacher and clap.
Ron putting me to work?
Zack Greinke
Procedure: Bone spur removal in 2013 while with the Dodgers.
Outcome: No UCL surgery. Returned to pitch 200+ innings in multiple seasons afterward.
Durability: Pitched effectively through 2022, well into his late 30s.
Max Scherzer
Procedure: Bone spur debridement in 2009 while with the Diamondbacks.
Outcome: No Tommy John. Went on to win multiple Cy Youngs.
Durability: Still pitching in 2025, known for elite velocity and command.
Stephen Strasburg (pre-2010)
Procedure: Bone spur cleanup before his UCL tear in 2010.
Outcome: Initially recovered well without UCL surgery. Later had Tommy John, but the bone spur procedure itself didn’t lead directly to it.
Otherwise, you’re just heckling from the cheap seats.
Actually that was for bleachercreature but I was muted or blocked bc that’s what you do when you have nothing to say, unlike you.
Sorry to make you work. Tanaka with the yankees is another that comes to mind. Not sure what procedure he had, but he came back and pitched a long time
Appreciate that.Your right l looked it up Tanaka’s a great comp he had that partial UCL tear in 2014, opted for PRP and rehab instead of Tommy John, and still gave the Yankees six more seasons of solid work. Not many pull that off
In September about 6 weeks after Rodriguez’s surgery and just before the playoffs started Elias put a post-surgery recovery time at 3 months and both Elias and Rodriguez said he had not started any kind of rehab yet. They did say that he was expected to be ready to participate in spring training, but were very circumspect in their language in not saying explicitly that he would be ready to pitch in games at the start of the season. I seriously doubt he has started anything more than doing a little soft toss.
Rodriguez has averaged 14 starts per year in his career. If he throws more than that for the Angels I would be astounded. By the time the 2026 regular season starts it will be 20 months since he last pitched in a game that counts. He will be under strict pitch and innings limits for the 2026 season whenever he is ready to pitch again.
If he suffered with the bone spurs for 3-4 years, then why didn’t he get it taken care of on one of his many trips to the IL? One has to wonder if he kept it from O’s management. all of that time.
I don’t agree with the part of this article speculating that he may be 100% now because of the bone spur removal.
Supposedly a player can keep the “pain” away from the Team but once the medical
Exams begin that staff should make a full
Diagnosis. As for Agents, they are about two things – player happiness and setting a path for the next contract. They can also serve as a buffer between player/team…
every surgery or incision comes with x amount of scar tissue. With elbows much like hands there are alot of ligaments, tendons, muscles, coming to their ends. Scar tissue can restrict movement and can have a lasting impact.
My guess is, they tough it out and hope to stay effective enough to land a big payday. Then take your chances with surgery.
The Orioles were aware of his injury. The story referenced in the post specifically states that surgery was discussed in spring training last year and they decided to postpone it.
“We decided to not get the surgery in spring training, and then it got to a point where I was like, ‘I can’t take it,’ so I had them removed in August,”
micg,
I don’t agree with the part of this comment speculating that he may have kept his injury from O’s management.
Bone spurs in pitchers — especially in the elbow — are often managed conservatively unless they’re causing acute symptoms or functional limitations. It’s not uncommon for guys to pitch through them for years, especially if they’re not impinging on range of motion or causing inflammation. Think of it like a ticking time bomb: manageable until it’s not.
As for the idea that he “kept it from the O’s,” that’s a stretch. Teams do pre-signing physicals, and the Orioles are notoriously cautious — they’ve nixed deals over far less. If the spur was stable or asymptomatic at the time, it might not have raised red flags. And once symptoms flared, surgery became the logical step.
Also worth considering: if this started during his time in the minors, there’s a real incentive not to speak up. Minor leaguers don’t have guaranteed money, and any medical red flag can derail a call-up or contract. It’s not about deception — it’s survival. You make it to the show first, then deal with the cleanup.
Trading for him without any medicals is like buying a used Hyundai with a branded title with over 100K miles before getting the CarFax back. And they took your first offer, you say?
Your take would have made more sense with a better vehicle. Say like a 2020 Dodge Challenger with 40K for $20K . After you buy it you check Car Fax find out the frame is bent. Who cares about a Hyundai ???
Who said that the Angels didn’t look at Rodriguez’ medicals?
100% they did. And 100% they saw something but decided to take a chance anyways because you don’t get good pitching talent with years of control for a one year rental unless there’s a catch.
This is what I saw, but I didn’t think to question the formerly reputable SI.
si.com/mlb/angels/onsi/angels-news/angels-didn-t-r…
Surprising that so few people know that you don’t get a physical from a team that just traded for you.
Previous team provides medicals, thats it. This is standard
It was worth it on the Angels part based upon the upside alone, in addition to the fact that they only gave up one year of Taylor Ward to get him.
Blue Jays fans know all about that because of the David Wells trade. Mike Sirotka… that really sucked. Sirotka never threw another pitch in the majors after that trade was finalized.
Angels need to trade/sign one more good starter. Still can’t rely on the “kids.”
I’m sure they will. They need a decent CF that can hit.
If Grayson Rodriguez says he’s healthy after bone chips,bone spur removal, I’m inclined to believe him. This isn’t Tommy John surgery—we’re talking bone chips and spurs, not ligament reconstruction. Yet some folks trolling the site still don’t buy it. It’s not the Angels or their fans casting doubt—it’s the usual noise from the peanut gallery. If the procedure cleaned things up and he feels right, let him prove it on the mound. The skepticism says more about the trolls than his elbow.
Spot on !
Enough of the playing doctor google
Why not? They’re a .500 team at best if everything breaks right. There’s no reason not to give the young guys a chance to establish themselves
I’m all for playing the best talent you can out on the field.
Would anyone be surprised if Rodriguez has to undergo some kind of arm surgery in May while Taylor Ward hits .215 with less than 20 HRs for the Orioles?
So many thoughts
If he has been experiencing discomfort for a really long time and kept delaying surgery, I understand he wants to rehab and wait or whatever, but so many players particularly pitchers delay the inevitable, and it comes back to haunt them almost every single time.
Angels not doing a medical before agreeing to the trade is a really bad omen. But they jumped at the chance without giving it a second thought
On paper angels won the trade. But I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes a lose lose for both teams. Ward will leave Baltimore after one year and Grayson might never live up to his huge potential not for lack of talent but bec of Health problems
I don’t get the 2nd point. Are you saying the Angels didn’t look at medicals? Or that the Orioles didn’t provide them? Because that would violate mlb rules
Or are you saying they didn’t give him a physical? Because that only happens in free agent deals, not trades.
While it is not standard, it is technically possible for the acquiring team to request a physical if they see something that concerns them enough in the files. It just doesn’t happen very often.
They obviously didn’t see anything too concerning.
Perhaps there was nothing concerning in the medicals. Are you saying they should have done a physical, anyway? Is that allowed under the union contract?
Optional, not mandatory Under the MLB collective bargaining agreement CBA teams can require a player to undergo a physical before a trade is finalized but it’s not a requirement. It’s up to the acquiring team to decide whether to include that as a condition of the deal.
I really don’t care what he does 2026.
The Angels have him for four years.
Poor guy
Agreed. I’d be thrilled if the Angels slow-walked Rodriguez and he gave them 15 healthy starts and 75 IP over the 2nd half of the season.
I dont think it can be a lose for the Angels. Because by itself it could be a salary dump. Angels probably not that close to competing for a playoff spot this year with Ward on the roster. He is not a name or a star that is going to fill seats to justify a 13M spend if they dont make the playoffs. In that sense they already won.
Unless they miss the playoffs by a game but even then if they are competitive at the trade deadline a similar guy could be added. They cant be sure a 32-year-old with 175 Ks and a .230ish average can do the same thing two years in a row. Maybe a career year and will be overpaid this year.
So right there a victory getting him off the books. Then they have a guy for 4 years who once was the best pitching prospect in baseball and when healthy has looked great at times. He could be healthy for a decent stretch of time and be a front of the rotation starter. Bone spur removal may help. If they get anything out of him, just a bonus. If nothing, cut him, no big deal. Its already a win. It has the potential to be a big win.
Glad you’re NOT in charge
Glad you’re not either.
@whatever
How do you feel about the people who are in charge, who did the thing he is agreeing with?!
Ward had value though, dunno if you can call it a salary dump. Im often suprised, but id be shocked if they couldn’t have gotten at least a couple low level lottery tickets.
On paper Grayson is much better than that return, but if he never pitches the Angels yet again failed to get any value from a veteran player leaving.
Had may be the key word. There is an assumption you can cut and paste Ward’s stats into this year which is a huge assumption. But I mean how much did he really help? Did the Angels really benefit from having him on their roster last year? Will the Orioles as a last place team benefit from having him on their roster? I know there is a lot of opinion that oh the Os can just make some moves and be great again but I think their ceiling is 4th place without a Dodgers-type free agency. I watched a lot of their games last year. There were injuries but when guys were healthy it was still pretty average. Dont see them adding and getting to the point where they look better than the Blue Jays Red Sox or Yankees. Maybe not even the Rays.
There are other reasons to hold on to good players even if you’re not in contention. They can help mentor younger players for one.
It can also damage the development of a young SP if they never get any run support or an awful defense behind me them and they feel like they have to be perfect all the time in order to have a shot to win.
Plus, even if they’re not a huge name, if the team’s not performing well, they’re going to still sell less tickets.
That being said, given the return, I still think it’s a good idea for a trade. I just don’t necessarily think it’s an automatic win no matter what.
Copy that !!
Grayson has 4 years to show just one decent/healthy season for the angels to win this trade.
Now imagine you are a contender and you don’t believe that 2026 is that one decent/healthy season but you can get a right-handed power bat for the upcoming season when they’re in short supply…
And then if he does, he’s gone.
Weeks later and the trade is still baffling – all the risk now rests with the Angels ! O’s FO probably popped a bottle once the deal was closed 🍾🥂
Weeks later? It’s been four days.
Do you own a time machine? If you do quit hogging it all to yourself and hook us up.
This makes the trade worse for the Orioles.
Angels could use a positive break so I am wishing him well out there. Then again, the old Monty Python “It’s just a flesh wound” skit occurs to me here…
So for my part as an O’s guy, its tough to see a guy as talented as he is get dealt. I understand it though, he’s not reliably healthy. And hoping guys are reliably healthy led to the disaster of a season that was last year. That being said, I hope this guy goes out there, proves himself healthy and turns into the ace that his stuff says he can be. It really sucks to see guys so talented have their careers destroyed by injuries. Hopefully he doesn’t become one of those guys.
Yup, wish him well. The reality is that he’s already 26(!), not fully healthy, and the greatest predictor of future TJs is past arm and shoulder injuries.
He’ll be lucky to end up as a mid-rotation guy or back end RP in his age 28 season.
I love takes that assume Elias is a drooling moron and didn’t both investigate other deals for Grayson and try to extract a bigger return from LAA.
The player is worth what the market is willing to pay.
Lord. The only contrary voice in someone’s head here is the one telling you to stay quiet and be thought a fool rather than post and prove it.
Dude can flat out pitch when healthy
I mean, what is he really gonna say? “I’m a long ways off”…
Kid could have an axe in his head, he’d still tell you “I’m fine, give me the ball.”
Another patient to the Perry Minassian reclamation clinic
I’m not gonna list all the players in the last five years, but just look up how many players angels have tried to “fix”
Not sure you can call a 26 year old coming off an injury a reclamation project.
If he’s missed a year and a half he’s a reclamation project at this point
Reason being is there’s if he can stay healthy if if hope hope maybe if we get lucky when you’re saying those things it’s a reclamation project
He’s still on a pre arb deal
Reclamation projects are on their 4th or 5th team, 3rd or 4th different contract
Also someone that had some sustained success and looking to “reclaim it”
Rodriguez doesn’t fit really any of that
He missed a year came back then missed 1/2 a year.
Injured players are not always the same after they come back. Especially pitchers
Would you call Chris Rodriguez reclamation project
Robert Stevenson
His contract status is irrelevant
He will do fine. Absolutely
He should do roids, like me.
G-Rod should do roids, like I do.
He fleeced the Twins in the Jorge Lopez trade, he fleeced them again when he got coloumbe,he fleeced the Angels in the Kyle Bradish trade, Trevor Rogers for Kyle stowers and Norby seems to have worked for both clubs, and he acquired Burnes in a steal…
What you are saying is kind of like saying a guy got some good but not excellent grades on quizzes and homework assignments but still failed the class. Elias has been around for 7 years and has never had the team win one playoff game and just finished in last place. I find it unbelievable how many people want to support him and defend him given that.
Even the example used that Rogers for Stowers and Norby could be a win win for both sides is debatable on how great a trade it was. Originally it was a colossally horrible trade for the Os but now it shifted some. At the end of the day, I think Stowers WAR for the Marlins while he is under team control will be a lot more than Rogers while he is under control for the Os. Then the Marlins get Norby too. So that should be much more a Marlins win unless Stowers falls off a cliff. And here the Os are trading for an OF cause they need one and Stowers is doing great, better than the guys they kept and sign as FAs by a longshot. He picked the wrong OF to trade.
Twins Lopez trade feels kind of blah vs. excellent when you look at how Cano and Povich are doing now. It was a good trade but not the kind of trade that makes you promote the guy or keep him. Then there are all the not so impressive moves to include with these that makes it an umimpressive resume.
His big thing is drafting guys and getting MLB or Baseball America to say those guys are highly ranked. But a lot/most of them aren’t producing now. So it does not mean a lot.
Hard to believe the Angels didn’t require a physical before agreeing to the deal.
Almost every trade that’s made doesn’t have a physical
I’m both highly skeptical and praying somehow the Angels finally hit big on a trade.
Pulling for this guy. Will be a sneaky low pick in fantasy drafts.
If Grayson starts 17 games in any of the 4 seasons with under a 4 ERA, LAA won the deal. Its a low bar for them to win this one.
I think after Ward hits against Yesavage it will be more clear how valuable he and his one season of maybe 2 WAR is. The WAR wont add up to much if you cant produce against good pitching.
Rodriguez smells like damaged goods, but the Angels signed off on whatever the Doctor said about his elbow and shoulder. It only cost them there best hitter(Sorry Trout it’s been too long and Adell is like Dave Kingman with nearly a 40 hr season on a 0.5 WAR for it). Seems like a bad move to me, but who knows maybe Rodriguez wins a Cy Young there.
First, calling Rodriguez “damaged goods” is a bit reductive. Yes, he’s coming off elbow surgery, but it was a bone spur cleanup, not UCL reconstruction. That’s a big difference. Plenty of pitchers bounce back from that — it’s more about inflammation management than structural failure. The Angels’ medical team likely saw clean mechanics and a recoverable timeline. Risky? Sure. But not reckless.
Second, calling Ward the “best hitter” is generous. He’s a solid bat, but he’s also 31, with declining hard contact and a history of injuries himself. He was a great story, but he’s not a foundational piece. If you believe in Rodriguez’s upside — and the Angels clearly do — this is a classic sell-high on a bat, buy-low on an arm move.
Also: yeah, there’s risk. But there’s also four years of control on a 26-year-old with frontline potential. Even if Rodriguez needs Tommy John, you’re still getting three years post-rehab. And by moving Ward, the Angels free up $13 million — that’s real flexibility to chase a bat or bullpen arm in free agency. It’s a bet on ceiling and cost control, not just health.
As for Adell: yeah, the Kingman comp is fair in shape, but WAR doesn’t always capture the full picture with young power bats. He’s still 26, and if he ever figures out the zone, you’re looking at a 3+ WAR player with 40-HR upside. That’s not nothing.
Bottom line: this isn’t a slam-dunk win, but it’s not a disaster either